Today was unusually warm for December here and a wonderful day to ride. I'm about 300 pounds and my wife's just over a third of that. We had a very nice ~50-60-mile ride (2-up) today on gravel roads, secondary roads and some primary (non-slab) roads. No luggage to speak of (essentially empty topcase) and the '07 Wee did great. We really enjoyed the ride. I'm glad we didn't have the extra 40-45-pound Vee weight to handle on the "roads" we traveled.

If you plan a lot of slab riding, either alone or 2-up, I'd recommend a Vee - just for high-speed passing capability - but if there will be little if any slab riding I'd recommend a Wee - I've certainly been happy with mine.

Oh yeah - Wee MPG is significantly better too (check Fuelly).

Good luck.

By slab riding you mean interstate? I usually stay off those cause I really can't see the country side while on them. Speed limit on those is 75 (3/4 throttle of KLR). I thought I heard tell of the speed limit being raised to 85 on one section of road but not sure.

Is 75-80 mph 75% throttle of the wee? Or better yet how much power is left at 80mph?

Till a year ago, for the last ten years, I'd had BM boxers in one size or another, the last being a 1100GS. The wee doesn't have quite as much umph as a thrashed 11xx / 12xx GS, but my wife prefers the wee to the GS which shocked here a bit, and my bank manager likes the 25% extra mpg I get. In September we went down (2 up with pizza boxes luggage) from Ijmuiden to Split with a mixture of motorway and major roads including the Jadranska Magistrala and a few miles of dirt track. Never once missed the extra power that the GS might have.

Is 75-80 mph 75% throttle of the wee? Or better yet how much power is left at 80mph?

I don't know what percentage of throttle 75-80 is but would think it is less than half! Power left? Well, again you will want to downshift. Not that the engine is not in its torque band anyway but a downshift will increase mechanical torque. If you are running 75-80 it will speed up but, seriously, do you really want to add 20 mph to your speed to pass someone when you are already going that fast? Those that have actual experience will tell you it WILL run 80 mph all day for you and not labor all that hard to do it.

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The majority of my riding is solo but My wife loves to ride too. When she gets on the bike it feels slow for a few miles then I forget she is back there. It slows the bike down just enough that I can accelerate wide open and she is happy. Any more power and she would get cranky (the wife not the bike). She loves to go fast and the harder I ride the happier she is. If I had a faster bike I have no doubt she would have me driving beyond my comfort zone. It is really fun when she gets off though. The bike feels fast and very agile then. As for cruising the slab we cruise at about 75 at probably 40% throttle. Cruising any faster than that and the fuel economy will drop below 40 mpg. Over that and I get tired of watching for cops anyway so I stay at 75 or lower.

The only negative I can think of to riding two up on my 650 is the rear seat height. But that is a Strom issue not a 650 issue. My wife is 5 feet 0 inches tall. I am 6 foot 2. She can't climb on the bike with me on it. Especially if the OEM bags are on. She has to first get on the front seat then use the front pegs to push herself to the rear seat. Then I get on. This means I have to get off first. When I grab the left hand grip while standing beside the bike she knows she can get on. I gave my brother inlaw's GF a ride and caused her to panic when I got off first. She thought I was dumping it and freaked. It caused a long discussion in my in laws garage. It seems that "real" bikers won't let the woman get on first or off last.

My questions would be: Can the 650 do two up for long trip (700 miles one way for me) with ease?

Yes - no problem.

What about passing power (18 wheelers, KLR 650 has none!!)?

The 650 has plenty of passing power up to around 100 mph - ridning solo you just twist the throttle - heavy loaded you have to drop it a gear or two.

Winds off the big trucks?
Crosswinds?

I have not experienced any problems regarding wind sensitivity.

Comfort (personal I reckon)?

I have the higher OEM seat on my Strom, and have never ridden a more comfortable bike.

Any info would be great... Thanks

Over the years I've had many different bikes, most of them bigger and strong than the Strom (my 2012 Strom replaced a 2010 CB1000R).
Ridning solo (which I do 99% of the time) I find the Stroms power more than adequate - even on spirited rides.

The few times I've ridden with a pillion the Strom impressed me with how well it handled the extra weight (my 200 lbs nephew) - handling was only slightly affected.

BUT if riding 2-up was a priority for me I would have gone for a Super Ténéré, R1200GS or an Explorer instead of the Strom.
Not because of comfort or handling, but because I prefere to have ample power in every situation.

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